Dispensing machine



sept. 2 6, 1944. 1H@ wlLsE'Y 2,359,182

DISPENS ING MACHINE Filed June 2o, 1940 4s'hee1s-s11eet 1 fiale/alor l la sept. 26, 1944. l. H. wlLsEY 2,359,182

I DISPENSING MACHINE y,

Filed June 20, 1940 v 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 flare/allow [P0622 TM/ iisgfifa/Wiley@ Sept. 26, 1944. l. H. wlL'sr-:Y 2,359,132

DIsPENsING MACHINEl l Filed June. 20, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented sept. 26, 1944 s PATENT OFFICE DISPENSING MACHINE Irven H. Wilsey, Chicago, Ill.; Ruth Ann Wilsey executrix of said Irven H. Wilsey, deceased Application June 20, 1940, Serial No. 341,448

(Cl. S12-97.1)

35 Claims.

The invention relates to machines for dispensi ing articles such as packaged or bottled goods and has particular, though by no means exclusive, utility as applied to coin controlled machines for vending refrigerated bottled drinks. In the latter particular class of machines a number of bottles of beverage are stored in a refrigerated cabinet and the purchaser simply drops a coin into a slot, whereupon a bottle is automatically delivered to him by the machine.

One object of the present yinvention is to provide a, machine of the general character indicated which is characterized particularly by the large number of bottles or other somewhat similarly shaped dispensable articles which it is capable of storing in a limited space. This characteristic makes possible a minimization in the overall dimensions of the machine, a highly important factor in many instances because of the limited oor space available in factories and other places where such machines are commonlyl installed. Moreover, the reduction in cabinet size not only cuts its cost, but also, in the event that it is refrigerated or heated, minimizes the load on the refrigerating or heating system since the peripheral area of the cabinet, through which heat leakage takes place, is small.

Another object is to provide a machine of the type indicated specifically adapted for controlled temperature storage of articles, Vin that the articles are not only disposed in a novel manner to accommodate a maximum number, but also in such manner as to permit free circulation of chilled or warmed air about them to accomplish their effectual Vcooling or "heating, as the case may be.

vAnother object is to provide such a machine which can be conditioned at,will for the dispensing of only some selected fraction of the total number of articles in it. This feature is, again, especially desirable in refrigerated or heated cabinets -in that articles freshly loaded into the cabinet can be withheld `from delivery until they have had time to reach the proper temperature. 1

A more specific object is to provide a machine of the character set forth in the preceding statement of object and in which no additional handling of the withheld articles is required to condition them for sale after they have been in the cabinet long enough to reach a desired temperature.

Another object is to provide a dispensing machine which can be fractionally or fully'loaded,

and Without causing any difficulty in conditioning the machine for operation 4despite the fact 1 that it may be only fractionally loaded.

Another and importantvobject is to provide a machine of the type indicated in whnh the drive mechanism which shifts the articles into delivery position has to move, for each successive sale, only a fraction of the articles on hand, thereby -materially cutting down the power consumption .A be entailed inthe latter procedure.

Another object is to provide a machine of the character indicated such that when it is opened for reloading, the discharge mechanism, which ordinarily operates in response to movement of the article carriers ,within the machine, `isvautomatically disabled so that` the article carriers can be freely moved duringlreloading without danger of inadvertent actuation of the dischargf mechanism.

Another object is to provide a dispensing machine in which the interior can be easily and fully exposed for reloading so that the dispensable articles can simply be pushed in as fast as the service mans hands can move.

Still another object is to provide a dispensing machine of the type indicated embodying a novel arrangement for preventing theft of the contents 0 through the discharge opening, and this too, withdependingvupon the supply of articles available,

out the necessity of any elaborately locked closure for such opening. I

The invention also provides various structural innovations and improvements for machines of the class indicated by means of which their manufacturing cost is very markedly reduced, including among others, minimization and simplification in the number and form of the parts required as well as their adaptation to formation bysimple stamping operations from sheet metal, shaping of the stamped sheet metal parts to afford a. high degree of strength 'with low weight and cost and without sacrice in elciency of operation, and finally organization of the machine to permit of so-called bench type" assembly. In other words,

Figure 1 is a general perspective view of a dis-` pensing machine embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a unitary bottle storage and feed unit normally housed within the cabinet shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic layout of the apparatus.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectionalview taken generally along the lines 4*! in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 5 5 in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view taken generally along the line 6--8 in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail side elevation of the one of the latch devices and associated parts.

Figs. 8 and 9 are fragmentary stop-motion sectional views of the latch entering a. notch in the carrier, section being taken substantially at 9 9 in Fig. 7. f

Fig. 10 is a detail perspective view of the latch.

Fig. 11 is'an enlarged transverse sectional View along the line II--II in Fig. 1.

Fig. 12 is a vertical sectional view along the line |2- I2 in Fig'. 11.

Fig. 13 is a Wiring diagram of the control cirlcuits for the machine.

Simply by way of exemplication, the invention has been disclosed herein as embodied in a machine especially designed for the dispensing of refrigerated bottled drinks. This particular illustrative form has been chosen because in some of its more limited aspects the invention has particularly to `do with that class of machine. In its broader aspects, however, the invention is, as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, applicable to many other types of dispensing machines. Consequently, even though the particu-1 lar form of machine shown has been described in some detail herein, there is no intention to limit the invention to such embodiment of the invention, but on the other hand, I intend to cover all 'modifications and alternative constructions fall-` ing Within the spirit and scope of the invention as; expressed in the appended claims.

Upon reference to Fig. 1 it will be seen that the machine illustrated herein comprises an upright cabinet I0 of square cross section, resembling in. general outline and construction the familiar refrigerator cabinet. Within this cabinet is housed a bottle storage and feed unit, signated generally as lI (Fig. 2). In brief, bottled drinks aref loaded into the unit II and cooled by a suitable refrigerating system incorporated in the cabinet structure. A purchaser inserts a coin or other check in the coin box I2 (Fig. 1) whereupon a chilled bottled drink is automatically delivered to him at one of the series of delivery doors I 4 on the front of the machine.

The cabinet III itself is shown as being of more or less conventional form for refrigerators and,

in fact,` one of the virtues of the machine is that the unitary character of the assembly I I makes it possible to insert the latter, in completely preassembled form, in a structurally separate, and,

if desired, a standard, refrigerator cabinet. Another important advantage of the unitaryl arrangement' is that it 'makes possible so-called bench assembly. In the course of such a bench type assembly the complete unit II is assembled in a regular factory production line rather than assembling its constituent elements within the cabinet.

As to the cabinet shown, it comprises inner and outer sheet metal shells I5 and I6, respectively (Fig. 4), with suitable heat insulation I'I between them. The open front of the cabinet is closed by a pair of hinged heat-insulated doors I l, I9 which are customarily locked. The unit II can be inserted or removed through the opening covered by these doors. Any Asuitable refrigeration system may be used, as, for example, an evaporator coil (not shown) mounted in the upper portion of the cabinet and ysupplied with vaporized liquid refrigerant in the usual way from a thermostatically controlled compressor-condenser unit (not shown) mounted in the lower portion of the cabinet. Of course, forced draft circulation of the air within the cabinet may also be provided, if desird.

Maximum storage capacity, and particularly l for bottles or other articles of generally similar shape, is achieved herein by arranging the articles in a novel manner. In particular, the bottles are disposed in a series oi' generally conical groups, one nested over the other in superimposed relation (Figs. 2, 4 and 5). Observe that by so arranging the bottles the following advantages, among others, are realized. First, the all-over height of the several groups is minimized as compared, for example, to an arrangement in which the bottles are disposed in a series of superimposed annular groups with all of the bottles upright. In the present instance the diminution in height results not only from the tilting of the bottles, but also from the nesting of the groups down over each other. Second, the angle of tilt for the bottles is such as to permit gravity feed' of them from the group in discharging them to a purchaser. In this same connection it is to be noted that the tilt-of the bottle causes them, when released, to slide outwardl away from the next group beneath so that no clearance need be left above the latterfor the discharge mechanism. Third, the conical distribution of the bottles takes advantage of the generally tapered shape of the individual bottles. that is, a maximum space is provided between the bottle centers at the base of the cone where the bottles are the widest and a minimum space between their narrower neck portions adjacent the top of the cone. Fourth, the grouping of the bottles, as distinguished from arranging them in one continuous series, makes it possible to move only one group instead of the whole supply when delivering a bottle for a sale. This last' feature is closely related with the feature of storing a maximum numberA of bottles. In other words, it is feasible to store such a great number of bottles as my machine makes possible largely because only a part of them need be moved for each sale. Otherwise the power lconsumption-as well as the size and cost of the drive mechanism might be unduly high if such a great number of bottles had to be moved step by step for each sale. Fifth, the distribution of bottles herein contemplated makes possible an effectual circulation of heat treated (i. e., either coo1ed`or heated) air about them in the event that it is desired to dispense the beverages in either chilled or heated condition. f

To support the bottles b (Fig. 4) in the configuration described, they are placed on a nested series of carriers or trays to 28 (Figs. 2 and 3) each of generally frusto conical shape and all revolvable about a common vertical axis coincident with the axes of the conical groups of bottles on them. .Means, hereinafter described, is provided to define pockets about these carriers in which the bottles are received and which hold them releasably in the desired position.

'I'he general mode of operation for the Vunit Il may best be understood by reference to uthe diagrammatic layout in Fig. 3. As there indicated each of the carriers (only three ofwhich are therein shown) has a frictional or other overrunning type of drive connection 21 from a vertical shaft 28, the latter being driven by an electric motor 29. Latches 3U are arranged to engage notches in the peripheries of corresponding ones of the carriers, the spacing between successive notches being a distance equal to the spacing between center li'nes of the various bottle-receiv-l ing pockets on the carriers. In the present instance these notches are formed in the outer ends of the generally radial barriers on the carriers which denne the bottle-receiving pockets. The power driven shaft 28 tends to rotate all of the carriers but normally the latches are engaged to hold them against rotation, slippage occurring between the shaft and carriers at the frictional drive connections 21. For each step of advance desired for a selected one of the carriers, its latch corresponding frictional connection 21. After the t carrier has advanced one step its latch 30 again engages the same to prevent further rotation. In this manner each of the carriers may be individually advanced step by step for a fullrevolution.

Each such step of advance for a carrier is initiated by dropping a coin in the box i2.I By means of a control system hereinafter described, the carriers can be controlledI so that they will be stepped around one after another, beginning with a selected carrier as successive coins are dropped. Moreover, the number of steps permitted for each carrier, and the number of carriers which can be rotated at all, can both be preselected by the operator so as to withhold desired bottles from sale until they have had time to be properly chilled. Finally, after all of the bottles conditioned for sale have been delivered, the coin box will automatically return to the customer coins subsequently dropped in it.

Upon each step of advance for a carrier a fresh bottle is presented at a delivery station for such carrier, these delivery stations being located at substantially the opposite sides of the carriers from the latches, or, in other words, at the front of the unit Il. At the delivery stations are stationary dogs d projecting up through annular slots in rthe carriers into the bottle-receiving pockets thereon. Hence as the carriers are severally rotated the successive bottles thereon ride up on the dogs d, being raised by the latter and stripped from the carrier. It will thus be seen that when the insertion of a coin in the box l2 causes the one of the carriers to advance a step, a bottle on it is lifted free of the carrier by the corresponding dog d and the freed bottle then slides gravitationally off of the carrier and popsv 'of the legs of the adjacent barriers 45, engage out of the adjacent delivery door I4 on the front of the machine.

Turning now to the details of construction for the illustrative machine. (see Figs. 2 and 5) the vertical drive shaft 28 is journaled in bearings Il and 22 fixed respectively to a cruciform base 23 and to a top bracket' 34 carried on uprights 25 and 36 rising from the front and rear, respectively, of the base. The electric drive motor 29 is mounted on this base 23 and is connected to the drive shaft 28 by means of an endless roller chain 31 led over sprockets on the drive shaft 28 and on an outlet shaft 38 from a speed reduction gearing housed in casing 39 connected to the motor.

The carriers 20 to 26 are all identical in construction and any desired number may be used, depending on the capacity required for a par-` ticular machine, seven such carriers having been shown in the present instance. The lower carrier 20 (Fig. 5) which will serve as an example for all, comprises a stamped sheet metal hood 40 of frusto conical form fixed to a complementally inclined peripheral flange 4l on a disk shaped central web 42. the latter having a hub 43 freely journaled on the vertical shaft 28. The frusto conical shape indicated for the sheet metal carriers 40 serves to give them maximum rigidity even though they are made of fairly light gauge sheet metal. Each of the carrier hubs 43 rests on the upper face of a corresponding collar 44 pinned to the vertical shaft 28 so that the carriers are thus retained in vertically spaced relation.

A series of bottle-receiving pockets are defined on the extericrs of the carrier hoods 40 by sheet metal strips 45 doubled upon themselves in V shape (Figs. 2 and 4) and hating their edges welded or otherwise fixed to the hoods 40 to forni barriers between the several pockets. -Transverse abutment strips 46 xed to the lower ends the lower ends of the bottles b (Fig. 5) and prevent them from sliding down off of the carriers. It will be appreciated that these stamped sheet metal parts can all be made and assembled at very low cost. The V-strips 45 serve not only to define the bottle-receiving pockets but, addi-` tionally, their outer ends, which project from the peripheries of the hoods 40, form notches en; gaged by the latches 3l) in stepping the carriers around.

The frictional driving connections 21 between the vertical drive shaft 28 and the various carriers 20 to 26 are very simply constituted (Fig. 5).

In each instance the active surfaces of the frictional drive connection comprise simply the opposedvbottom ends of the hubs 43 and the upper faces of the collars 44 which they contact. To

augment the weight of the carriers in pressing these surfaces into engagement, helical compression springs 41 are interposed between the tops of each of the hubs and the opposed bottom face is light enough t0 make effective the use of a lirictional drive connection of the character indicated. y

The latch mechanisms 30, which cooperate with the drive mechanism described, to effectuate the desired step-by-step rotational indexing of the .falls into the notch.

various carriers, are mounted on the upright 36 (see Fig. in the rear of the unit II so as to be inaccessible for manual release by an unauthorized person reaching through oncof the discharge openings in the front of the cabinet I0. Each of these latch mechanisms 30 comprises (see Figs. 7 and 8) a sector shaped latch plate 48 pivoted on the upright 36 by a pin 48a and arranged with its flanged inner edge disposed to ride along the periphery of the carrier and drop into successive ones of the series of notches in the latter defined by the open ends of the Vstrips 45. ',I'o form a smooth circular edge for the latches to ride along between notches, Aout-- turned flanges 46L are provided on the lower edges of the abutment strips 46.

To withdraw the latch plates 48 4into disengaged position they are provided with actuating solenoids mounted on the upright 36 and having armatures (not shown) connected by pivoted links 54 with the latch plates. The solenoids associated with the latches of the respective carriers are designated as 53a to 53 (see also Fig. 13). Means is alsoy provided for preventing reentry of one of the latches into a notch from which it has just been withdrawn so that even if the actuating solenoid is only energized to momentarily withdraw the latch it cannot relatch the carrier in the same position. For this purpose a linger 49 is pivoted on the. front edge ange of the latch sector 48 (Fig. 8) by a pin 49 and is normally urged to swing out away from the latch plate by a tension spring 50. A flange 5I on the finger limits its inward movement toward the latch plate while a stop lug 52 on the latch plate limits its outward movement. Observe that the spring 50 also serves to urge the latch plate itself into engagement with the carriers periphery (Fig. 7). With such an arrange-` ment the finger 49 serves, in effect, to widen the front edge of the latch plate to a width greater than that of the notch on the carrier soit can only enter the latter when the nger 49 is drawn in to overlie snugly the active forward edge of the latch plate. Thus, when the latch is once withdrawn from one of the notches the nger 49 springs laterally, enlarging the effective width of the latch edge so that it cannot reenter the same notch. To collapse the finger 49 so that the latch can enter the next notch, however', as the carrier rotates, the flange 46a on which the latch rides is cut away as indicated at 4Gb (Figs. 9 and 10) on the leading side of each notch. Thus, the latch rides up along this cut-away at the next notch, the finger 49 abuts against the opposite edge of such notch, thereby being pushed intoI collapsed position, and the latch 'I'his operation is, of course, repeated at each notch. Clockwise rotation, as viewed from the top, is used for the carriers in the instant machine.

A very simple bottle-receiving structure is provided atthe delivery stations for each of the revoluble carriers 20 to 26. It comprises a hollow vertical housing 55 xed on the front of the cabinet door I B and having a front wall made up of the series of trap doors I4 corresponding in number to the number of carriers (Fig. 1 and see also Figs. 11 and 12). The side walls of the housing 55 project into a vertical slot or opening in the frontdoor I8 of the cabinet and the' inner edges of these housing walls are turned laterally and xed to the inner face of the door (Fig. 4).

' Each of the trap doors I4 is pivoted at its lower edge by a pintle 56 to swing outwardly from an upright closed position to the' open position indicated in dot-dash lines in Fig. 12, thedoors being urged to closed position by torsion springs 51 encircling the pintles. When fully opened the doors are alined with corresponding inclined slides 58 in the housing 55 and which are in turn. generally alined with the slope of the adjacent carriers so that a. bottle, upon being released, Will move freely down the slide 58, thrust open the trap door I4 and come to rest against the flange 5S at the edge of the latter. It will thus be seen that whenever a bottle b on one of the carriers presented at its delivery station, is freed from the carrier. by the dog d, it automatically slides out into position to be picked up by the purchaser. After the bottle is picked up by the purchaser the trapdoor is snapped shut again by its spring 51. Desirably, the slides 58 and inner faces of the doors I4 are covered by longitudinally iluted rubber mats 69 and 6I, respectively, so that the bottles will not slide out toofa'st.

Discharge of the bottles b successively presented at the delivery stations by the respective carriers is accomplished by means of the dogs d as heretofore noted (Fig. 5). arranged to project into the bottoms of the successively presented pockets in their respective carriers. Such entry of the dogs is permitted since the lower portions of the bottom sides of the pockets are open by reason of the fact that the barrier strips project beyond the hood peripheries. Moreover, the strips 45 are themselves notched at 62 to permit them to pass freely over the dogs. Consequently, as any one of the carriers rotates to present the next bottle b at its delivery station, the bottle rides up on the dog d (Figs. 5 and 6) in passing the delivery station and is thereby freed from the abutment 46 at the lower endof its pocket so it can slide on over this abutment and down the slide 56, thrusting open its trap door I4 as heretofore described. When at'rest in latched position the carriers always present the outer end of one of 45 the barrier strips 45 to the discharge opening,

l as distinguished from an end of a pocket, and each step of advance moves the next pocket past the discharge opening, the bottle being stripped from it by the dog during this passage.

In order to disable the dogs d when the cabinet doors I8, I9 are opened they are formed as right angular extensions on rock shafts 63 (Fig. 4) journaled in brackets 64 on the upright 35. The opposite ends of these rock shafts- 63 also have angular extensions 65 thereon, which are disposed to be engaged and thrust inwardly by the door I9 when the latter is closed. Torsion springs 66 encircle the rock shafts 63 bearing at their opposite ends against the angular extensions 65 60 and against the brackets 64. Thus, these springs 66 normally urge the rock shafts 63 in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 5 so that they normally tend to tilt the dogs d down into inoperative position, Whenever the door I9 is closed, however, the rock shafts 63 are oscillated clockwise so that the dogs d are thrust up into the operative position shown;

The character of the cycle of operation for the machine has been indicated in a general way above. Turning now to a more-detailed consideration of vthe same, it should be noted rst of all, by way of synopsis, that during normal dispensing operation:

(a) A coin dropped in the box I2 initiates op- 5 eration of the drive motor 29 and also causes the 'I'hese dogs d arel Aiirst one in the series from which latch 30 to be released for one of the carriers so that the latter is rotated by the motor to present, a bottle at the delivery station.

(b) During the advance of the carrier the motor is retained energized by a. switch operatedY by the latch.

(c) After an advance of the carrier for one step its latch drops back into the next notch in the carrier, thereby arresting carrier rotation and also open-circuiting the drive motor.

(d) After the carrier noted has been stepped around to a predetermined angular position or stop position its latf`b mechanism is disabled against further release, and the circuits are automatically set up `by suitable preset combination switches so that the next carrier, in a preselected series of them, is conditioned for the same cycle of operation as noted :for the first carrier.

(e) When all of the available carriers have been stepped around to their nal or stop positions the coin boxl2 is conditioned to return any further coins dropped in it, indicating the machine is empty.

As a preliminary to the operation outlined above, the ycontrols also permit of wide latitude in conditioning the machine for operation, both in permitting freedom of movement of the carriers during loading and selection of the number of bottles which will be subsequently dispensed. in this connection it should be observed that, in general, the controls are such that:

(a) All latches can be simultaneously disen gage@ and the carriers revolved by the drive motor E@ any amount desired in reloading.

(b) Any desired ones of the carriers can be disabled against delivery of any of their load so that it can be withheld from lsale and for further cooling in the cabinet.

(c) Each of vthe carriers can beginitially positioned any desired number of steps away from the predetermined angular position heretofore noted, and in which its further rotation is arrested, so that only the portion of its load corresponding to such number of steps can be dispensed, the rest, if any, being withheld for further cooling.

(d) Any carrier desired can be selected as the bottles will be dispensed. f

The electrical control system (see Fig. i3)

which makes possible this versatility of operation dll comprises, rst of all, a normally open coin oper ated switch SC installed in the coin box l2 and arranged to be momentarily closed by a coin dropped in the box. Such coin switches are well known and available on the market in a variety of forms. .fis is also common in such boxes, an electromagnet lockout coil LC is provided, controlled by a lockout relay LR, and adapted when energized to cause coins dropped `in the coin box l2 to pass right 'on through to the `return cup I2 (see Fig. l). A pilot light PL, in shunt with the relay LR and hence on when the latter is picked up, shows when the lockout coil LC is on and in dicates to the proprietor vthat the machine is empty. A series of motor switches S10 to Sie (Fig. 13) one for each carrier, serve to retain the is unlocked by the proprietor.

yswitch is closed and remains closed until the latch opens by dropping of the latch plate into the next notch on the carrier. A. series yof carrier insulated stop projection 16 von the carrier (Fig.\

5) the contacts-14, 15 are opened and the central Contact 14 closed against an upper contactfl'l. For use during the loading and preliminary conditioning of the' machine a set of ,combination switches S30 to S36, a set of latch release switches Sie to Sie, a set of interlock switches S50 toSse and a rell switch Se aref all mounted Within the cabinet so as to be inaccessible except when it The combination switches are double-pole double-throw tumbler switches (Fig. 13) the latch release switches are single-pole tumbler switches, while the rell switch Se is a normally single-pole switch.` 'I'he interlock switches Sao to Ss@ are normally-open push button type switches arranged to be closed automatically by the dogs d when the latter are dropped down into inoperative'position (Fig. 5). Current for the drive motor 29 as well as for the latchrelease solenoids and other elements of the control system is fed from supply lines L1 `and La (Fig. i3) which may be pluggedinto any suitable source such as an ordinary lighting system. Oi course, the drive motor (not shown) for the refrigerating unit may also be fed from this same source.

.ds to the operation of the control system (Fig. i3) itA will first be assumed-that all the carriers have been lled with bottles, that all of the hotties are chilled ready for sale and all of the carriers positioned a full revolution away from theirpredetermined stop positions. Further it will be assumed that the operator desires to start delivering drinks' first from the carrier 20 (associated with the combination switch S30) and has for that purpose thrown the switch 'S30 to its left hand position, as shown in Fig. 13, the other combination switches being in. their right hand positions, and, of course, the cabinet is closed y and locked. Under these circumstances, when a coin is dropped in the box l2 the coin vswitch SC is momentarily closed, thereby energizing the latch-release solenoid 538 (through a circuit Lieii-r-SC-tll-53a-2-S2o--83-S3o--5--L SO that the latch releases the corresponding carrier ill and also closes the motor switch Sio to energize the drive motor 2li (through a circuit Li-Smiiii--iZ-t--Lih Observe that the latch cannot reenter .the same notch, Iby reason of the special latch construction heretofore noted, so that even if the coin switch is only closed momentarily there is no danger of failure. The'carrier 20 then revolves in a cldckwise direction through one step, i. e., until its latch drops into the next notch on the carrier, thereby opening the switchl Sio to stop the.motor and engaging the carrier to positively stop it. During this step of advance a bottle on. the carrier is, of course, ejected from it as previously described. Each successive coin dropped into the coin box causes the carrier 2U to be advanced another step in the same manner until it has been stepped around to its predetermined or stop position in which the projection 16 on it shifts the carrier switch Szo'to ment affords.

open its contacts 14, 1i land close its contacts The shift oi the switch Sm' noted above disables the circuit through which the solenoid Il.

was previously energized and conditions for operation a circuit for the latch-release solenoid B2b of the next can'ier 2i. Thus upon the next closure of the coin switch SC, the solenoid 53h will be energized (through a circuit Li-lB-SC- until the last carrier 26 has shifted its switch Sie. -At the latter point the supply of bottles has been completely exhausted from the machine and no further actuation of the carriers can take place.

Coincidentally with the shifting of the last carrief switch sie, as just described, the mekout relay LR. is venergized (through a circuit Li-QU- When this relay picks up it energizes the lockout coil LC by connecting it across supply lines Li, Le and thereby conditions the coin box to return coins subsequently dropped in it. Observe that the circuit'for the lockout relay includes all of the carrier switches San to Sas so that all carriers must have been revolved to, stop position bev fore it can close. l

To start the same general cycle of operation with an initial unloading of some other carrier in the series. than the one indicated above the operator need only make an appropriate initialsetting of the combination switches Sao to Cae. For example, if he wishes rst to deliver :bottles from the carrier 23 he throws its switch S33 to the. left (instead of switch Sao for carrier as described above) and throws the other to the right. With the circuit so set up the carrier 23 will ilrst bestepped around and then the carriers zi, 25, ze, 2o, 2| and :2,1m the order named.

'I'his ability tostart deliveries from any selected carrier in the series is frequently very desirable since the operator can start with a carrier containing the coldest bottles, locating those which have not been in the cabinet so long further down the series so that they will .have more time to cool before being dispensed.

of bottles may be available for illiing the machine or perhaps some of them will not have been in the machine long enough to reach the proper temperature. To meet such contingencies provision has been made for cutting out of operation not only desired ones of the carriers but also for limiting the number oi' bottles that can be dispensed from any one of the carriers. To cut out a carrier it is simply necessary to rotate it, during loading to its stop position in which its carrier switch (S20 to Sm) is pushed over to close4 its contacts 14, 11. For example, if the operator wishes to begin the unloading series with carrier 20, as described above, but to skip carriers 22 and 23 he preliminarily throws the combination switch Sac to start the series with carrier 20 as described and he also rotates the carriers 22 and -23 until the projections 16 vou them shift their switches S22 and Sn. Thereafter the cycle will proceed as previously described except that rotation of the carriers 22, 23 will be skipped, their latch-release solenoids 53 and 53d being cut out of the circuit by switches Sn and Sn. In the same manner it the operator wishes to deliver, say, only six bottles from carrier 2l he preliminarily positions it only six `steps away from its stop position. Then when its turn comes to rotate it will be indexed only through Particularly notable in the operation cycle described is the fact that the drive motor 29 never has to move more than a fraction of the load at one time, specifically a maximum of one Iull carrier. This makes it possible to use a small,

inexpensive drive motor even with the very large bottle capacity that my novel carrier arrange- More than that, an increase in the-number of carriers does not materially increase the load so that various desired numbers of the duplicate-carriers may :be added to accommodate the capacity requirements of particular installations while still using a single standardized model of drive.

In the illustrative cycle of operation set ou above'it was assumed that it was`desired to dispense the entire capacity of the machine. In

these six steps and then the shifting of its switch Sn will set up the circuits of the next carrier in the series for operation. Hence, any other bottles that may be on the carrier 24 will be withheld from sale and retained in the refrigerating zone.

'I'he initial positioning of the carriers required to accomplish thefractional load type of dispensing just set forth may be eilected by proper manipulation of the latch release switches S40 to Sie and reilli switch Se as next described below.

When thev cabinet doors I8, I9 are open for restocking the machine the dogs d are spring urged to inoperative position, as previously described, so that the carriers can be revolved without danger of inadvertently stripping bottles from them. The interlock switches Ssn to Sw insure that these dogs are actually retracted since the circuits which must be set up for revolving the carriers for refilling can only be completed when the switches have been released for closing by their respective dogs. Assuming that the doorsl3, I3 are open and all of the dogs actually retracted so that the interlock switches S50 to S56 are closed the operator can revolve any selected one of the trays by closing the corresponding one of the latch-release switches S40 to Sis and the reilll switch Se. For example, if he wishes to revolve the carrier 20 he closes the reilil switch Se and the latch-release switch S40. Thereupon the latch-release solenoid 53a is energized (through a circuit Ll--BO--Se--B |-53l-82--l 02-S5o-S4o- ID3-ella) and the retraction of the latch causes the drive motor 29 to be energized by closure of the motor switch S10 (through a circuit L1-S1o- Observe that the solenoid 53 has a sustained energization, as distinguished from but a momentary one, as in the case of the normal dispensing operation, so that the latch is retained retracted` and the carrier revolves freely instead of being stepped around. Also no te that the energizing circuit for the soleno is independent of the carrier switch S20 so th t the carrier can go around and around right n through its stop position, Oi course, it may be stopped at any point desired simply by openmany instances, however, less than thai-number ing one .or both of the switches Sio or So. The

for subsequent dispensing. In connection with the loading operation it should be noted how easily the bottles can be @racked up" in the cabinet. When thedoors I8, I9 are swung open about a third of the pockets on each ycarrier are exposed for loading. To put the bottles in place the operator simply shoves them neck foremost over the -tops of the bottom strips 46 of the pockets and into the latter and they\drop ninto proper position. He can therefore shove "J the bottles in one after another as fast as his hands can move, run the carriers around tothe desired starting positions, slam the doors, lock the cabinet and be off to the next machine. It will be appreciated that this rapidity of loading is of paramount importance when it is borne in mind that machines of this vclass are customarily servi-ced Iby a man from some central bottling plant who drives a truck load of bottles around from vone machine to another on a regular route, rells the machine with them and takes away the empty bottles. Obviously time saved in the servicing or reloading operation for vthe machines materially increases the number that he can take care of on his route. l

Though the machine is commonly left unattended it is thoroughly guarded againstv breakage if any of the moving parts stick, and against unauthorized removal of the bottles. As to the rst point, it should be noted that the frictional type drive connections 2'! for the carriers einv fectually priotect the :motor against dangerous and continued overload in case one of the carriers becomes jammed, that is, the carrier'merely remains'stationary just as if it were latched and the motor driven shaft 2d continues to turn with slippage in the mating frictional surfaces at the connections 2l so no harm is done. .As to unauthorized removal of bottles, it will be remembered that the carriers always come to rest with the outer ends of the pocket -barrier strips 46 presented at the centers of the lcorresponding discharge openings in the cabinet door it. Hence, even though the .single trap doors It, which close these openingsfcan be easilypried open, still the barrier eiectually blocks the entry ally rotated it in a reverse direction, he could conceivably push it around through a full revolution, this way, stripping all of the bottles from itsince the expansion type latch described will not engage theY .carrier notches when the carrier is turned reversely (edges of the notches are relieved to permit latch entry only at one side as previously explained in connection with Figs. 9

and 10). To obviate this diiliculty back-up pawls |04 (Fig. 4) are provided in the cabinet to engage the carriers and thus prevent counterclockwise or reverse rotation.

I claim:

1. A dispensing machine for bottled drinks orV thev like comprising, in combination, a heat insulated compartmentI having a plurality of von tically alined discharge openings in a side wall' thereof, a plurality of frusto conical carriers disposed in nested relation one above the other in f said compartment with the lower edge of each adjacent one of said openings, means on said carriers dening a plurality of open-top pockets Vabout the frusto -conical top surface of each of them to receive oneach carrier. a series of bottles disposedin generally conical configuration with the axes ,of the bottles slanted upward and inward, means including a vertical drive shaft extendingup through the series of carriers supporting them for independent rotation, means forming individual frictional drive connections between said shaft and said carriers, dogs vmounted adjacent respective ones of said openpermit one` step of rotation thereof for eachr actuation of said check controlled means, and presettable control means for causing said check controlled means to be operatively associated with the latching means :for various ones of the lcarriers in preselected sequence. 2. In a dispensing machine, the combination of a rotatable carrier comprising a frusto conical hoodrevoluble about its vertically disposed longitudinal axis, a plurality of strips of sheet metal doubled upon themselves in V-form and secured to the upper surface of said hood at spaced points about its periphery with the noses of the Vs pointing upwardly toward the axis of the hood to constitute barriers separatingbottle-receiving pockets on the surface of the hood, and transverse abutments joining the lower leg portions `of adjacent ones of the Vs to engage the lower ends of bottles or the like received in said pockets.

3. In a dispensing machine, the lcombination of a carrier including a hood of generally frusto conical`shape revoluble about its vertically dis,

posed longitudinal axis, a plurality of V-shaped strips of sheet metal xed on the exterior of said hood to form barriers between pockets thereon, said strips being arranged with the noses of the Vs pointing upwardly toward the 'axis of the hood and with the legs of the Vs projecting downwardly beyond the periphery of the hood,

and a latch member movably mounted adjacent the hood periphery to shift into and out of the notches defined between the projecting llegs of the Vs and thereby hold the hood against rotation when projected into such notches.

4. A dispensing machine comprising, in comi means, whereby the number of articles withheld from delivery may be varied at will.

5.'A dispensing machine comprising, in coin-y bination, a rotatable carrier adapted to receive an annularly disposed series of articles to be dais-v pens'ed, means for disabling said carrier against rotatably indexing said carrierfrom a selected initial angular position to present successive articles thereon to a discharge station, the displacement of said initial position from said Predeter mined position serving to determine the portion of the articles on the carrier which will be presented for discharge.

6. A dispensing machine comprising, in combination, a rotatable carrier adapted to receive an annularly disposed series of articles to be dispensed, power actuated means for revolving said carrier to present successive articles thereon to a discharge station, means for disabling said power actuated means against moving said carrier further after the carrier reaches a predetermined angular position, a releasable latch means for stopping said carrier in successive positions in its indexing movement by said power actuated means, and means for retractiug said latch means and for rendering inoperative said disabling means to permit free rotation of said carrier through any desired number of steps by said power actuated means during reloading.

7. A dispensing machine comprising, in combination, a rotatable carrier adapted to receive an annularly disposed series kof articles to be dispensed, power actuated means for revolving said carrier to present successive articles thereon to' a discharge station, retractable latch means for latching said carrier in` successive positions of its indexing motion, control means operable upon each actuation thereof to disengage said latch means only for a sufcient interval to permit the carrier to index through one step. means for disabling said carrier against further movement after it reaches a predetermined angular position, and means for disabling said latch means to permit free rotation of the carrier through any desired distance for conditioning of the same for subsequent movement through a desired series of steps corresponding to the number of articles which it is desired shall be dispensed.

. 8. A dispensing machine comprising, in combination, means adapted to receive a series of articles and shift the same along a predetermined path upon movement of said means, power actuated lmeansfor moving the rst mentionedmeans has been stepped along by the power actuated means through a preselected number o! steps variable at will.

11. A dispensing machine comprising, in combination, a carrier adapted to receive a plurality of articles to be dispensed, means supporting said carrier for step by step movement through a predetermined path comprising sequential steps oi' a number determined by the initial position o! the carrier, power actuated means for moving said carrier step by step along said path to present successive articles on the carrier to a delivery station, the number of articles presented for delivery and also the number' withheld in position on said carrier thus depending upon said initial setting of the carrier, and said carrier -being repositionable at will to change said initial posi` tion thereof and thereby condition additional articles for delivery without handling of the same or manual shifting of their positions on the carrier.

' cles presented for delivery and also the number y withheld in position on the carrier thus dependrendering said power actuated means operative with a stepby step motion through a preselected articles to be dispensed, power actuated means.

for advancing said movable means stepby step, check.i controlled means for initiatingeach step ing upon the initial .displacement o! the carrier from said predetermined position, and saidcasrier being repositionable at will to change vsaid initial displacement thereof and thereby condition additional articles for delivery without handling of the same or manual sluiting of their positions on the carrier.

13. A dispensing machine comprising. in combinarios, a plurality of carriers each adapted to receive a plurality of articles to be dispensed, each oi said carriers being rotatably indexible step by step to present successive articles thereon to a discharge station, power actuated means for indexing said carriers, and control means for to drive successiveones of said carriers.

14. A dispensing machine comprising, in combination, a plurality of carriers each adapted to receive a plurality of articles to be dispensed, each of said carriers being rotatably indexible step by step to present successive articles thereon to a discharge station, power actuated means for indexing said barriers, individual overrunning drive connections between said power actuated means and respective ones of said'carrlers, stop means forA holding individual ones ofsaid carriers against rotation, andY means for actuating Said stop means to release successive ones of said carriers .for rotation by Isaid power actuated means.

15. In a dispensing machine, the combination of a rotatably mounted carrier adapted to receive running drive connection between said member of advance of said movable means by said power actuated means, and means for disabling said check controlledmeans. against initiating further advance of the movable means after the latter and said carrier, and latch means engageable to Ahold said carrier positively against rotation in vtion from the shaft to the carrier, and vlatch means engageable in successive predetermined angular positions of the carrier about' the axis of said shaft to hold the carrier releasably in such positions,

1'7.` In a dispensing machine, the combination of a carrier adapted to receive a vplurality of articles to be dispensed, a rotatable drive shaft, means journaling .said carrier for rotation on said shaft and forming a frictional drive connection from the shaft to the carrier, latch means engageable in successive predetermined angular positions of the carrier about the axis of said shaft to hold the carrier releasably in such positions, and means operative as` an incident to movement of the carrier between successive ones of said positions to discharge successive articles therefrom.

18. A dispensing machine comprising, in combination, a storage cabinet having a door and a discharge opening, means within said cabinet for moving a series of articles therein step by step through a predetermined path to said discharge opening, a discharge mechanism for ejecting through said opening successive articles presented thereto by the first mentioned means, and means for automatically disabling said discharge means upon opening of said door, whereby the iirst mentioned means maybe moved for reloading of articles when the door is open'without danger of inadvertent actuation of said discharge means.

19. A dispensingmrachine comprising, in combination, a storage cabinet having a door and a discharge opening, means within said cabinet for moving a series of articles therein step by step through a predetermined path to said discharge opening, a. discharge mechanism including a dog operative as an incident to movement of articles by the first mentioned means into juxtaposition with said opening for ejecting the same through said opening, and means for automatically moving said dog into an inoperative position as an incident to opening of said door.

20. A dispensing machine comprising, in combination, a storage cabinet having a door and a discharge opening, a carrier adapted to receive a plurality of articles to be dispensed, means supporting said carrier within said cabinet for movement to present successive ones of the articles on it to said discharge opening, a movable dog within said cabinet adjacent said opening and normally positioned to strip from the carrier successive articles presented to it by movement of the carrier and thereby free them for delivery through said opening, mea-ns yieldably urging said movable dog out of said normal position into an inoperative position, and means actuated by said door for moving the dog to operative position only when the door is closed.

21. A dispensing machine comprising, in combination, a storage cabinet having a door, a frusto conical carrier mounted for rotation within said cabinet about a, vertical axis, means dening a plurality of open-top pockets on said carrier for receiving a series of bottles or the like arranged in generally conical configuration on the carrier, said pockets presenting a continuous annular opening in their lower sides, a dog, means pivotally supporting said dog to swing into and out of a position projecting into said annular opening in the bottoms of the pockets, whereby said dog thrusts the successive bottles upward that ride over it in the rotation of the carrier thus stripping them from the carrier and freeing them to slide outward from it, spring means yieldably urging said dog into inoperative position, and means actuated by said door when the latter is in its closed position for moving the dog into operative position.

22,2 A dispensing machine comprising, in combination, a carrier revoluble about a vertical axis and having on its periphery aseries or open-top .opening in their lower sides, and a dog projecting up beneath said carrier into said opening and over which successive bottles ride upon rotation of said carrier, said dog being of suilicientheight to raise the bottles free of their pockets as they ride over it and thus slide gravitationally downward and outward free of the carrier.

23. In a. dispensing machine, the combination of a carrier rotatable about a vertical axis, means on the carrier dening a generally conically arranged series of pockets for the reception of bottles or the like, said pockets all slanting upwardly and inwardly with their longitudinal axes converging substantially at the axis of carrier rotation,abutments at the lower ends of the pockets engageable with the. bottoms of bottles therein to hold them against sliding downward, discharge means for eecting a disengagement between successive bottles and their abutments for gravity discharge of such bottles from the lower ends of their pockets, and each of said pockets presenting at least a partially open face accessible in the direction of discharge from such pocket and through which a fresh bottle may be conveniently shoved into place in the pocket, past the corresponding' abutment,. in reloading the carrier.

` 24. A dispensing machine comprising, in com.- bination, a cabinet having a discharge opening therein, a carrier rotatably mounted within said cabinet and having a plurality of pockets thereon defined by generally radially extending upstanding barriers on the carrier and adapted to receive articles to be dispensed, check controlled means for revolving said carrier step by step between successive positions in which the outer end of one of said barriers is presented at said opening, discharge means operative as aniincident to movement of successive pockets past said discharge opening for delivering the contents ofthe successively presented pockets through said opening, said barriers vpreventing unauthorized recarrier in position to entersuccessive ones of,v lthe notches presented to it during rotation of the carrier, a solenoid for withdrawing said latch to released position, means responsive to a momentary actuation of a check operated switch for energizing said solenoid momentarily for the withdrawal of said latch, means including a. spring urged member on the active entry portion of said latch for preventing reentry of said latch into a notch-from which it has just been withdrawn by such a momentary solenoid actuation, and means on said carrier for camming said member into inoperative position as an incident to carrier rotation to permit entry of the latch into the next presented notch.

26. In a dispensing machine, the combination of a movable article carrier presenting a series of spaced notches along it, a latch mounted adjacent said carrier and yieldably urged toward it into position to entervsaid notches as they are successively presented to it, the portion of said latch which is positioned to enter said notches comprising a pair of members yieldably urged apart to a distance too great for the latch to reenter a notch once it has been Withdrawn from it, thereby permitting said members to 31. In a dispensing machine, the combination of a series of individually revoluble rotors each adapted to receive a plurality of articles to be dispensed, a power actuated driver, presettable control means for conditioning said driver to revolve said rotors one after another in sequence, with a step by step motion for each one revolved, to a predetermined stop position for it and with the sequence beginning with any desired une of the series of rotors, and means for disabling said driver against revolving at all any selected one of the rotors so as to omit them from the spring apart upon such withdrawal, and means on said carrier operative as an incident to movement of the same past said latch for camming said members together to condition the latch to enter the next successive notch on the carrier.

27. In a machine of the general type set forth, the combination of a' :evolubly mounted rotor adapted to receive a series of articles to be dispensed, power actuated means for revolving said rotor, means including a latch mechanism coacting with said rotor to compel a step by step type of advance lthereof when the rotor is rotated by said power actuated means, discharge means for effecting a delivery from the rotor f articles presented thereto in each successive step of advance for the rotor, and controlimeans for disabling said latch mechanism and said discharge means to permit free revolving movement of said rotor by the power actuated means for reloading of the rotor.

28. In a dispensing machine, the combination ofa series of individually revoluble rotors each adapted to receive a plurality of articles to be dispensed, a power actuated driver, and presettable control means for conditioning said driver to revolve each of said rotors individually with a step by step motion to a predetermined stop position for each such rotor and in :a sequence beginning with any selected rotor in the series of them.

29. In a dispensing machine, the combination ,of a series of individually revoluble rotors each adapted to receive a plurality of articles to be dispensed, a powerv actuated driver, presettable control means -for conditioning saidg driver to revolve said rotors one after another in sequence, with a step by step motion for each one revolved,

to. a predetermined stop position for it, and means for disablingv said driver against revolving at all any selected ones of the rotors so as to omit them lfrom the sequence. y

30. In a dispensing machine, the combination lof a series of individually revoluble rotors each adapted to receive a plurality of articles to be dispensed, a power actuated driver, power actuated control means for conditioning said driver to revolve said rotors one after another with a step by step motion for each to a predetermined stop position for it, and means conditioning said rotors for free movement during the initial setting thereof for the initial location thereof at selected numbers of steps from their stop positions, whereby to predetermine the number of steps that each will be thereafter advanced by said driver.

sequence.

32. In a dispensing machine, the combination of a revoluble rotor adapted to receive a plurality of articles to be dispensed, releasable latch means for preventing rotation of said rotor from a succession of angularly spaced positions thereof, said latch means being engageable to hold the rotor only when the latter is in one of said positions, means including an electric drive motor for revolving said rotor, and control means for energizing said motor in response to disengagement of said latch means and retaining it energized until said latch means is reengaged at the next c-ne of said angular positions of the rotor.

33. In a dispensing machine, the combination of a revoluble rotor adapted to receive a plurality ci articles to be dispensed, means for releasablylatching said rotor against movement in a succession of angularly spaced positions thereof, said latch means being engageable to hold the rotor only when the latter is in one of said positions, means including an electric drive motor for revolving said rotor, control means for energizing said motor in response to disengagement of said latch means and deenergizing said motor upon reengagement of the latch means, means including a check controlled switch for generally momentarily releasing said latch means to free the rotor and effect an energization of the motor by said control means, said energization continuing until the latch means reengages at the next successive one of said angular positions of the rotor, and means for continuously releasing said latch means to permit free revolving of the roto-r during reloading of it.

34. A dispensing machine comprising, in combination, a plurality of carriers each adapted to receive a plurality of articles to be dispensed, power actuated means for moving said carriers to present successive articles thereon to a discharge station, and control means for rendering said power actuated means operative to drive successive ones of the carriers, whereby to minimize the power consumption of said power actuated means in driving loaded carriers.

35. A dispensing machine comprising, in combination, a plurality of receivers each adapted to receive a plurality of like articles to be dispensed, discharge means associated with each of said receivers for effecting the discharge of successive articles therefrom, and control means for .rendering said discharge means operative to effect the discharge of articles from the receivers in a predetermined sequence of the latter.

IRVEN H. WILSEY. 

